How Realestate.com.au dominates with content

Tomer Garzberg: What's your biggest challenge with content marketing?

Venessa Paech: In some ways, it was simply starting.

Millions of Australians use realestate.com.au listings, tools and services every day, but they didn’t think of us as a publisher. As a business we also had to change our mindset.

Even though people would regularly turn to us with questions like what to consider when moving out of home, how to find a good agent, or how to know if they’re ready to invest, we had to hit the ground running to earn trust and credibility in the content space: an area we hadn’t really explored.

The last year has been about building social capital by doing the work and showing we’re actively listening. That has helped us become the destination of choice for Australian property content.

A strong content strategy has supported substantial growth and a market leading presence across social media.

– VENESSA PAECH, realestate.com.au

TG: How do you solve the issue of talking locally, with a national audience?

VP: We work with our agent customers, who know their neighbourhoods better than anyone when it comes to property. We also work with journalists and bloggers around the country and have conversations with our consumers on social media, daily. This helps us ensure our content serves everyone, not just people living in our most populous areas.

Fortunately, our most popular and successful content is our evergreen tips and guides, which generally apply to most of the country. Property is the biggest investment most people make, and it can be such an unnecessarily scary and complicated process.

[But] It’s the same with our commercial property content. We’ve been able to help answer questions for groups like small business owners, who appreciate no-nonsense, yet informed insights and guidance. Working with a network of genuine experts to help demystify the process has attracted millions of people from Darwin to Hobart, keen to get past the jargon and make their dreams come true.

[REA] also work with journalists and bloggers around the country and have conversations with our consumers on social media, daily.

– VENESSA PAECH, realestate.com.au

TG: What's the future for marketing at a local level?

VP: The only certainty is change. I think we’ll see location based technologies combining with wearables to deliver targeted local content and messages. We’ll see social media continue to be harnessed as a mechanism for real time feedback and opportunities, and more local area marketplaces and neighbourhood based networks emerging to address the needs of specific communities. I also expect some interesting and disruptive times ahead with systems of currency and reward. Whether it’s a locally gated commercial loyalty app, or a digital bartering tool, the ways we define value and trade are changing.

Follow Venessa Paech on Twitter @venessapaech.